Rewrite The Stars
by Rathorian
Summary: Six months is a long time to be alone with someone, learning everything about them and more. Sometimes, things happen - things you cannot explain and never went in search of, but when you think about it, are things you always needed.
1. Prologue

**I have finally forced myself into watching the series finale and I am not pleased so from here on, it never happened. Rewind and now we figure out how it all should go, from the start of the Undercover Op, to where the show leaves off, to uncharted territory because I love McCollins and McSwarek is honestly so toxic that sometimes I just cringe.**

 **Let's Begin:**

Sitting in the back of an unmarked squad, head tilted back so the wind from the cracked window was pushing into her face, one would have assumed Andy was calm, but she wasn't. She was running – she knew she was running but she couldn't bring herself to stay. Sam Swarek was her kryptonite – she knew it, he knew it, really everyone who ever saw them together knew it; she was tired of it. She was tired of the exhausting tango of love and hate between them. She was tired of the fights and the betrayal and the fear and the lying. So, she ran. When Luke called with the opportunity to get away, she took it without a second thought. A long term Undercover Op with Nick Collins was an out she needed, and one she was going to take, consequences be damned. If Sam meant it – if he truly wanted a future with her, he would wait. At least, that is the mantra she repeated to herself over and over as the lights of the city began to fade into the distance.

"Can you handle this, McNally?" Amber eyes rose, locking with darker browns. "You have this look on your face," Nick started, concern pulling his lips down ever so slightly. She cracked a weary smile in his direction, one that had them both cringing a moment later.

"I will be. What about you, it looked like you and Gail were doing fine." She didn't miss the way his shoulders tensed or the way he took a moment to take in two breaths before nodding.

"She's going to France," the officer admitted with a tired rumble. She nodded sadly in response, leaning forward in her chair a little to lean against the back of his. "But hey, they plan on this thing being at least 6 months - that's enough time to get over a break up and move on, right?" Collins was more perceptive than he sometimes let on, and Andy was grateful for that - she was also grateful for the lack of prying he was doing when she noticed even Luke's gaze flickering to her from the rear view mirror every so often. "Six months, do you think you can pretend to like my presence that long?" Andy grinned at that and sighed dramatically, flopping back in her seat again.

"I'm not so sure, I mean. What if you snore in your sleep?" Nick's eyes widened in fake shock and hurt, lips parting in an "upset" 'o' as he struggled to not crack a grin of his own. "Or worse, what if you are a worse cook than me? Or what if you don't wash your socks? I dunno, Collin's. This seems pretty risky to me." They both finally broke, shoulders shaking with laughter as Nick turned back to the front, washing the dark horizon. "But," Andy continued after a moment. "I'm glad it's you, I wouldn't want any one else to cover my six." And it was the truth. Sure she trusted Diaz and Epstien and Nash with her life - but Nick was Military. He was smart and fast and trustworthy. She had learned in the months since he had joined the force that he was a good friend and an even better cop. She was glad it was him, glad that they weren't so close that he knew every detail of why she was leaving, but also glad for the companionship the two always shared.


	2. Month One

The sun was bright -- that was the first thing she noticed the first morning. The sun filtered through the window unobstructed and dosed her in its radiant light and she hated it. With a low moan, the brunette rolled onto her belly, dragging the much too stiff pillow over her head while burying her nose into the mattress, attempting to escape the offense. No such relief came, though she remained in that position for another ten minute before the door squeaked open and the scent of coffee flooded the room. It took six seconds for her to sit up, eyes squinted and hair a mess as she scowled at Nick who looked far too cheery for it to be this bright and early. "Good Morning sunshine," the man laughed. She decided she hated that laugh, that stupid loud laugh that made her want to smile, but she couldn't smile because it was too early for that.

A mug was placed in her hands, the warmth quickly spreading through her entire body, seeping deep into her bones. The first sip was heaven, burning hot and barely hinted with a bit of caramel. She didn't ask how he knew she liked her coffee like that, and frankly she didn't care. This man was a godsend.

It took another fifteen minutes for her to wake up enough to have a conversation that didn't consist of him talking and her giving various grunts as a response. "We need curtains," were the first words past her lips. Andy was certain he was gonna laugh that stupid laugh again, but instead he simply nodded and tapped a few things into his phone.

"Callaghan says we have today to get everything we need and to get sorted. Tomorrow we meet our new handler, and at the end of the week we get our first introduction. I will go first, and about a month down the line I will start bringing you into it." Andy simply nodded, appreciating how easy he made it seem, appreciating him getting straight to business. "We should also figure out our story. How did we meet, when, that kind of stuff."

And so that's how they spent their first day undercover, making lists and talking. By the next morning, blackout curtains hung before the windows, leaving the room perfectly dark. When Andy woke, it wasn't to any blinding lights, but to the smell of French toast and sizzling bacon and she decided this definitely wasn't going to be a bad Op at all.

By the end of the first week, Andy felt sure this is what normal feels like. Waking up every morning to a hot breakfast and open, honest conversation. She would do the dishes since Nick cooked, often having to shoo him from the room because he didn't like making her so them alone. They would go for a walk around the pier before Nick left for work and Andy left for her day job at a local coffee-book store. Nick would pick her up at closing and they would go home and watch scrappy TV and eat whatever Nick felt like cooking for them. Sometimes they would play cards, sometimes they would sit in comfortable silence, sometimes Nick would clean his glock while Andy began taking notes in her journal, and sometimes they teased each other until they were red in the face from laughter. All in all, things were going well and Andy was glad to have an easy partner.

By the end of the month, Nick was in and Andy was slowly making her way into the organization herself, though it was mostly just her standing with the other girlfriends and chatting while the men did the heavy lifting. But it was a start, and a good one.

 **I am sorry for the short chapter! Things will start picking up more soon! thank you to those who have sent in their reviews! it means a lot to me!**


	3. Month Two

"I am not some damsel in distress Nick, and if you ever do that again I will break your nose," the words were hissed in a hushed voice which only added to the sinister tone. She might regret that tone later but right now, she was pissed and Nick was not making it any easier on himself.

They were seven weeks into the operation when Hank, their main target, invited the both of them to the beach house for a party. It was the first time the invitation was extended to Andy and both had felt a huge relief at the organizations apparent acceptance of her. And that's where they met Ryan "Scully" Harlow -- Hank's second and a man who took an immediate interest in Andy.

At first, it was innocent enough -- passing remarks which were brushed off as scum bag teasing. Then it moved to subtle touches, a hand lingering on the small of Andy's back just a moment too long, or constantly placing a hand on her shoulder or back when he had no reason to. Hank had asked him earlier in the night if he was going to let it slide -- Nick passed it off with a short "I trust her". But the more he watched, the more his stomach churned and bile rose in his throat.

Frankly, Hank wasn't surprised when returning, after calling Nick away on a business call, the sight that met them was that of Ryan pinning Andy to the wall, arms trapping her on between them. Her face was flushed with anger and had Nick given a second thought, he would have seen the subtle shift in her weight that indicated she was about to handle it herself. He didn't wait to see that though -- he wasn't sure when the last time he moved so fast was, but in only three strides, he was behind Ryan. The man was peeled from Andy and shoved away, Nick making one quick step after him, fist driving into the man's nose.

Everyone froze in stunned silence, Andy watching as Ryan collapsed, unconscious and no doubt with a broken nose; Hank in amusement at Nick's defense of "his old lady", and Nick in mild horror and anger at both his own actions and those of Harlow himself. When he pulled Andy from the poolside, leading her back into the house, he wasn't sure what he was thinking -- he simply knew he needed out. Needed away from them and what he had just done. Their steps carried them to one of the spare rooms, cherry floors replaced with ivory carpet.

"What the hell was that?" Andy demanded, voice as angry as Nick felt. Honestly, he wasn't even sure. "Nick, do you know what you just did!" Nick knew -- he just jeopardized the entire mission.

"Why the hell did you let it escalate like that!" He snarled back, pacing restlessly from one side of the room to the other; that's when he knew he made a mistake. This wasn't her fault, this was on Harlow and Nick should have known better than to leave without her, but still his blood boiled. What if he hadn't gotten back? What if Harlow over powered her? His fist flew into the nearest thing, glass shattering and splaying out around him, embedding itself into his knuckles and into the carpet.

"I am not some damsel in distress Nick, and if you ever do that again I will break your nose," god did he hate those words. He hated it even more when she walked out of the room and left him staring at the bloody mess he made.

He didn't return to their shared apartment until nearly midnight, and Andy didn't even glance up from where she was writing in her journal. He wasn't sure which hurt worse, her clear anger or his hand. "Andy," he started, words strained and unsure. She continued to ignore him. "Andy please," he sighed. She said nothing.

Now, Nick always knew the brunette had a temper and could hold a grudge with the best of them -- normally he admired her for standing up for herself. But when that temper was directed at him, it made his stomach all twisted. Even still, he knew he wouldn't get anything from her and that's how he found himself lying flat on his back in the bed until nearly 2 AM when Andy finally entered. "Why are you still in here?" His shoulders sagged in relief at her words.

"I hate going to bed angry," came the soft reply, voice sounding more tired than he originally realized, but between the pain in his hand and the stress of the day, he didn't really care. "I didn't mean to make it seem like I thought you were weak," he continued after a moment, "When I saw him pinning you it freaked me out. I never thought you would let someone like him get that into your space without you reacting, so I thought the worst."

The bed dipped with the added weight of Andy as she crawled up the bed to lay beside him, their shoulders just barely brushing. "You walked in a second after it happened, I didn't have the chance to react. But Nick, you can't go around punching these guys. Either you blow our cover, or they drop us, neither of which we can risk. I need a partner, not a guardian." Nick nodded in response, eyes finally drooping as the exhaustion took hold. In the morning, if his hand was cleaned and bandaged, neither mentioned it. Nor did they mention the manner of which they awoke, their legs tangled together and Andy tucked securely against his chest. They didn't mention the way Andy didn't pull out of his arms or the way Nick didn't move his arm pillowed beneath her head despite how numb it was. They definitely didn't mention how their bodies molded together like a perfect puzzle piece finding its home. No -- all that was taken away from that night, was that Nick Collins hated going to bed angry.

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter! Things will start picking up soon so please bare with me until we get to the exciting stuff! Please excuse any spelling errors, I am writing everything in a phone app that doesnt have the best autocorrect for the things I miss! Thank you to those that have reviewed this story so far, it means a lot to me!**


	4. Month Three

"What?" One word. Four letters. Out of the countless options of what she could have said, that is what she went with.

Both she and Nick watched Blackburn with weary eyes, neither one quite sure what to make of his words yet knowing all the same what it meant. 15 weeks into Operation Dakota and the two were skating by pretty easy. Nick was in with their targets and Andy's presence was becoming more and more accepted. They should have known they were due for some bad need by now.

"There has been some chatter that one of you is a mole." Blackburn's face was as grim as the two officers felt. "They aren't buying that you are a couple. I don't want to have to tell you how a couple should act, but if I have to -- well, I'm sure there's a video for that." Both officers wrinkled their noses in disgust at that.

"We'll work on it," Nick promised before seeing their handler out. When he returned, Andy was finishing setting the table, several boxes of Chinese Take Out in the center if the table. "I guess we have been acting more like friends than a couple," the man sighed, sitting across from his partner and serving himself some Beef and Broccoli with rice. Andy didn't say anything for a moment, chopsticks moving easily inside a second container, serving herself a few pieces of Sweet and Sour Chicken.

"You don't think this will mess anything up, right?" Her words were soft, unsure, and she hated how they sounded in her own head. Weak. Scared. Vulnerable. "Acting like a couple. It won't change us being friends, right?" A piece of rice flew across the table and smacked her in the center of her forehead.

"Not a chance." She smiled at his words.

The matter was dropped for the following three days, until Nick's arm hooked around her waist during a party and his lips brushed the side of her head. Until then, none of the crew had seen any displays of affection between them. Before they would laugh it off as just being new to the relationship and not wanting to make it s big deal. But by now they should be comfortable with those displays.

Despite the newness of the situation, Andy found it wasn't too hard to relax into his touch. She could see, in the corner of her eyes, the way the Hank's wife giggled to her husband. Lorianne was nothing short of vulgar when prying for details about Andy and Nick's personal details -- for her, this would be gold.

Andy found herself turning her head into Nick's shoulder with a groan of annoyance. Nick's lips traveled from the side of her temple to the crown of her head, chest rumbling with a deep chuckle. "What's wrong, don't like being my arm candy?" He teased, words muffled against her hair.

"Shut up," Andy grumbled in response, pinching his hip. "You don't have to deal with all their questions about how you are in bed." That drew a louder laugh from the ex soldier. "It's not funny!" She huffed, hand slapping his chest as she moved to pull back, only to find his hold tightening and suddenly his lips were sealed over here, soft and kind. She blinked twice, startled by the sudden move. When he pulled away, brow arched in amusement, she scowled.

"You know your forehead," the pad of his thumb brushed between her eyebrows, smoothing a small wrinkle from the furrow between the, "gets all scrunchy when you are mad. You also get red, it starts from your neck and spreads to your ears." He cracked a bright grin, all perfectly white teeth and charm and Andy wanted to wipe that grin right off his stupid face.

"I hate you," was all Andy could bring herself to say, leaning against his shoulder once more. For once, she was thankful for the poor lighting of the beach house. The darkness shrouded the flush that now peppered her cheeks.

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this next chapter! Thank you to everyone that has reviewed this story, I appreciate it! Once we get past their home coming (Month 6), I am trying to decide how to proceed. Would you guys like a set plot story, or would you like to see me incorporate writing prompts instead? Or a plot but each chapter has a specific prompt that goes along with the plot?**


	5. Month 4

"You guys are four months in," Blackburn's voice was drawled and plain -- Andy wasn't entirely sure she had ever seen someone look so absolutely bored before, "Take the weekend, go home, see your family. Be back here Sunday night. Things have been a little quiet around here lately, it won't be an issue." She felt her head bob once, amber eyes watching as the door shut behind the grim faced man.

"A whole weekend, huh." Her head tilted towards Nick. "Going home to see Gail?" She didn't miss the way Nick's shoulders tensed or the sharp intake of breath. Neither of them spent much time talking about Sam Swarek or Gail Peck after the first month.

"She went to France," he mutter in response, cleaning his gun slowly, "I don't think I'll go back. Maybe I'll go camping or something." She didn't like the way he didn't look at her, or the way he pushed back into the couch.

"That sounds more fun than answering questions about where we have been," she chirped, plopping onto the couch beside her partner, twisting so her head plopped into his lap, his glock now placed carefully back into its holster and then into side table safe. "Oh! I saw a brochure in the burrito joint for Niagara? We could go biking, oh or caving!" she was already tapping away on her phone, oblivious to the small smile that spread across the man's face, one of his arms looking around her abdomen, the other toying with a few locks of her hair, watching as she scrolled through the park's website.

"If we leave around noon on Friday, we can be there early Saturday morning, get a few hours of sleep, and then head out." She bobbed her head in agreement.

And that's how the pair found themselves boarding the Hornblower Saturday morning, after a night of singing cheesy 90's rock on their road trip and after three hours of sleeping at the hotel. Andy was grinning, all but bouncing where she was standing, her fingers clutching his sleeve as the boat neared the falls. She was like a child on Christmas morning, and Nick found himself glad that she decided to join him on their weekend off -- he couldn't imagine this being even remotely as fun without her.

That was how their day progressed, doing the easier attractions first, and if at some point their fingers locked together -- well, neither of them said anything about it. That night, they went to bed with smiles on their faces, and they woke up ready for the day's adventure.

"What do you mean you've never been mountain biking?" Nick's exasperated question cause Andy to roll her eyes. "I thought you were the outdoorsy type!"

"I going hiking and stuff all the time!" She huffed back, arms folded over her chest with a defiant pout as she sat against a rock, her bike discarded to the side as Nick worked diligently on wrapping her leg. "And I use to ride a bike around the block and stuff, I thought it wou--," her words were broken by a pained hiss, peroxide splashing into the scrapes along her knee. "I thought I would be fine," she whimpered. Nick shook his head, unable to hide the fond expression as he continued to disinfect and wrap the injuries.

"You scared me," he confessed after a beat of silence. "One second you are riding fine, the next you just vanish." He stretched her other leg out, wincing at the deep gashes along the shin and calf. "You're lucky that bike didn't drag you down," he muttered. "I can't believe you got away without some serious muscle damage." She watched as he pushed the skin back together, nearly gagging at the sight.

The first portion of their ride had been fine, but then they started going down hill, the breaks locked up and she hit a rock the wrong way. Instead of going over it, it kicked her off to the side, and down the cliff she went, barely managing to catch herself with a root, the bike chain stuck deep into her leg and dangling just over fifteen feet from rapids below. Looking back, Andy wasn't sure she had ever seen Nick look so afraid, so panicked. She could still see that fear in the depths of his eyes, barely contained. She could see the way his hands would hover just briefly over her legs, as if he were afraid that touching her would make him wake up from some hellish nightmare. Her shoulders sagged, hands reaching out to touch his jaw, "but I did, and I am okay." He gave a weary smile and nodded, stitching the gash carefully, wincing with her each time she hissed.

Then all was said and done, they both stared down the path, then their bikes, "can you make it back?" Nick's worried gaze moved back to her again and she rolled her eyes with a nod.

"What's another ten miles?" And off they went, Andy needing yo stop every so often when the pain spread too much. Their two hour trip turned into a five your trip, and by the time the returned to the pavilion, the shop owner looked just as relieved as they felt.

"I want to go to the skywheel," she found herself mumbling, head cushioned on his shoulder as he carried her back to the car. His chest rumbled with his laugh but their course deviated as he moved to comply. The wheel was nearly at closing when they arrived, the sky dark and no one else around. A rare occurrence, the ride operator had told them. They sat together in silence, watching in wonder and awe as they rose higher and higher. Just as they reached the very top, the wheel was paused, the falls in clear view, lights at the basin illuminating the water with brilliant colors.

"Thank you," Nick blinked, turning his gaze to Andy, her body pressed against his, head on his shoulders but eyes on the falls. He smiled. Yea, this was perfect, and it was worth the fear of her fall.

 **Thank you to everyone who continues to read and review! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Also, I am sorry for any spelling errors and such -- everything is being written on my phone and it is much harder to catch certain things thanks to autocorrect. You will also note that a lot of stuff is OC in this. They never really went into detail how the undercover Op went so I am mostly making it up as I go!**


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